NEW YORK, N.Y. – New York University flexed its rebounding muscles on Sunday afternoon and used dominance on the backboards to post a 77-67 victory over the University of Rochester at the Coles Sports Complex in lower Manhattan.
The Violets (12-1, 2-1 University Athletic Association) held a 51-37 edge on the glass. NYU is ranked 15th in the current poll conducted by D3hoops.com. Rochester, which defeated Brandeis on Friday evening, is 8-6 overall, 1-2 UAA.
In Friday's win over Brandeis, Rochester shot a season's best 52% from the field. On Sunday at NYU, the Yellowjackets couldn't get the offense untracked. UR made 32% of its floor shots (24-75), just three of 32 outside the arc. NYU hit 47% from the field overall (27-58), seven of 18 from distance (.389).
Jacob Wittig had a breakout offensive game for the Yellowjackets. He scored a career high 18 points, hitting eight of 10 from the floor. Jared Seltzer contributed 16 points and six rebounds. Dylan Peretz had eight points and seven boards. Mack Montague had seven points, seven rebounds, and three assists. Sam Borst-Smith scored nine points before fouling out in the final 10 seconds.
NYU placed four men in double figures. Evan Kupferberg had 21 points and grabbed 16 rebounds. He hit eight of 12 floor shots. Costis Gontikas scored 17 points to accompany seven rebounds. Joe Timmes had 13 points, nine coming on three 3-pointers. Ross Udine had 12 points and five assists.
The Violets led, 22-14, after two free throws from Gontikas completed a 6-2 run in the latter stages of the first half. Wittig scored back to back baskets for the Yellowjackets, knifing through the lane for a layup and then hitting a jumper outside the right side of the lane. That gnawed it to four, 22-18. Gontikas restored it to six with a layup but Rochester went on an 8-3 spree to pull within one, 27-26, with less than four minutes left in the half. Peretz scored six of the eight points and Wittig finished the spurt with a drive.
Rochester's shooting turned cold and NYU went on a 10-2 flurry for a 37-28 edge. Kupferberg scored five of the 10. It was 37-30 at halftime.
Both teams had off-target stretches later in the second half, but Rochester couldn't make much of a dent. NYU sealed the win by hitting eight of 10 in the final 1:27 when the Yellowjackets were forced to foul.
Noteworthy:
It was a high-scoring Sunday around the UAA. Brandeis upended Emory, 75-68, in overtime, just two days after Emory downed NYU at Coles. Washington outscored Carnegie Mellon, 92-84, in Pittsburgh. The highest scoring game was Chicago's 112-100 victory over Case Western Reserve in Cleveland.
Currently, Chicago tops the UAA standings at 3-0. Washington, Emory, and NYU are all 2-1. Rochester, Case, and Brandeis are tied for fifth place at 1-2. Carnegie Mellon is 0-3.
Rochester returns to the Palestra on Friday evening to host Case Western. Emory hosts Carnegie Mellon and the matchups flip-flop on Sunday. NYU visits Chicago Friday and Brandeis goes to Washington. They switch on Sunday, too.
This was Rochester's final visit to Coles for what could be as long as seven years. NYU is going to renovate its athletic center, addressing specific needs including housing and theatres. The Violets will play off-campus during the work. The remainder of NYU's UAA games this semester will be played at Bernard Baruch College on East 25th Street and Lexington Avenue.